Date: Thu, 10 Nov 1994 15:24:43 -0800
From: Judith Rascoe
Subject: where did _this_ come from?
In an American textbook, "The New Business Arithmetic", 1906, I came
across a set of questions all framed in the same form:
'What cost 218 gallons of syrup at 50cents per gallon?'
'What cost 26840 yards of calico at 8 1/3 cents per yard?'
The "What cost [sub]" is grammatically correct, but it seems very archaic
even for l906. Or was it? Can anybody explain this usage? The numerous
very-American items mentioned in the book lead me to believe it's not a
translation from another language.